Machine for marking bobbins.



W. ELLIOT, JR.

MACHINE FOR MARKING BOBBINS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, I914. 1,15,79, PatentedSept. 14, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' W wazgw; ELLIOT, 1R.

MACHINE FOR MARKING BOBBINS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, I914.

Patented Sept. 14, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 n sane Parr. ran.

WILLIAM ELLIOT, JR., 015 LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MARKING BOBBIN S.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Sept. 14, 1915.

Application filed November 20, 1914. Serial No. 873,199.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM ELLIOT, J r., a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Lawrence, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for Marking Bobbins, of which the following is a specification.

It is customary to mark bobbins used in textile mills according to thecharacter or grade of yarn which the bobbins are to carry, the smallends or tips of the bobbins being usually painted for this purpose.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine for thepurpose stated, whereby bobbins may be marked with great facility andrapidity.

Of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form in which thepresent invention may be embodied, Figure 1 represents a side elevationof a bobbin'marking machine. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of theoperating mechanism which appears in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a Viewindicated by line 33 of Fig. 1, showing a bobbin in cooperative relationto the marking means. Fig. 4 represents a horizontal section of thestructure intersected by line 41 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents ahorizontal section of the structure intersected by line 55 of Fig. 3.Fig. 6 represents a section of the structure intersected by line 6-6 ofFig. 1.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever theyoccur.

The machine includes a bobbin carrier 10 hich, as shown, is in the formof a wheel. This carrier is provided with a series of bobbin holders 11which are in the form of spindles and are arranged radially withrelation to the axis of the wheel. The bobbins are indicated at 12. Thewheel or carrier 10 is affixed to a shaft 13 which is arranged insuitable bearings 14 on a frame or base 15.

In operation the carrier 10 is rotated step by step in one direction, asindicated by an arrow in Fig. 1, the length of the steps beingcoextensive with the intervals between the bobbin holders 11. Anattendant places the bobbins upon the holders, in the vicinity ofreference letter A in Fig. 1. The bobbins are carried successively intocooperative engagement with suitable marking means arengaging themarking means. The marked bobbins descending on the opposite side of theaxis with reference to the loading point A are brought successively intoregister with a knock-off device 16 by which they are thrown outradially so that they may drop into a receptacle B.

The mechanism shown for rotating the carrier step by step comprisespin-and-slot gears,the slotted member 17 being afixed to the shaft 13,and the pin 18 being carried by a sprocket wheel 19. This sprocket wheelis driven by a chain 20 which in turn is driven by a sprocket wheel 21.Sprocket wheel 21 is compounded with a pulley 22 which for convenienceis arranged upon the shaft 13, said pulley being loose with relation tothe shaft so that it may rotate continuously, whereas the shaft itselfrotates intermittently. During the intervals be tween the rotative stepsof the carrier 10 the latter is held by a retaining device whichcomprises a plunger 23, compression spring 24. collar 25, and roll 26.The collar 25 is atiixed to the plunger 23, and the sprin bears againstthe collar to hold the roll against the disk 17, said roll beingarranged to roll upon the rim of the disk and to react with the slots17' therein.

Referring to Fig. 3, each spindle or holder 11 is affixed to a stud 27and each stud is arranged to slide endwise in a bearing in the rim ofthe carrier 10. The inner ends of the studs 27 are provided with washers29 whose function is to keep the studs in their bearings. Each bobbinholder is provided with a rotatable disk 30 upon which the bobbins areseated. The force of gravity is relied upon to keep the bobbins seatedupon the disks 30 and to keep the shoulders 28 of the studs 27 seatedupon the outer ends of the bearings when the holders are above thehorizontal plane of the axis of the carrier.

The bobbin-marking device as shown comprises two bobbin-engaging strips32, although one of them may be omitted or others may be added ifdesired. These strips are, in the present instance, intended to apply acolored liquid, such as paint or dye, to the bobbins, and for thisreason they are made of absorbent material, such as felt. Each strip issupported by a holder 33, and each holder is in turn supported by asuitable hanger which is movably mounted so as to enable the strip totake its position according to the path traversed by the bobbins. Thetwo hangers as shown are mounted upon a pivot member 34. Each hangercomprises a base 35 and a pair of substantially vertical rods 36. Theholders 33 are formed with holes to receive the rods 36, and areprovided with setscrews 37 arranged to engage the rods. The holders 33are capable of being adjusted up and down on the rods so that they maybe set at any desired position. The hangers are oppositely disposed withrelation to the path traversed by the bobbins, so that the strips 32will engage the bobbins at diametrically opposite points. 1 considerthis the most desirable arrangement, although the structure shown wouldenable more than one marking device to be mounted upon the same pair ofrods 36. As shown by Figs. 3 and 4, the marking devices are bearingagainst the bobbin, and suitable working pressure against the bobbin ismaintained by the force of gravity, the hangers beingso weighted andtheir pivot -member 34 being so disposed as to cause the holders 33 totend to swing into the path of the bobbins. Stop members 38 are arrangedto coact with the under sides of the bases 35 of the hangers to preventthe marking devices from swinging too far into the path of the bobbinswhen no bobbin is within the range of the marking devices. These markingdevices as shown are adjusted to enable the bobbin-engaging surfaces ofthe strips 32 to set initially in the path of the bobbins sufficientlyto insure working engagement with the bobbins, but not so far into saidpath as to interfere with the movement of the bobbins. Each bobbin uponencountering the strips 32 displaces said strips laterally, the swingingtendency of the marking devices being then sustained by the bobbininstead of by the stop members 38, until the bobbin passes beyond themarking devices, whereupon the members 35 descend slightly until theyrest upon the stop members 38.

Each holder 33 is formed with a chamber 39 and with outlet ports 40 bywhich the paint or other coloring liquid is conducted to the backs ofthe absorbent strips 32. The coloring liquid is contained in reservoirs41 and is conducted to the chambers 39 by flexible tubes 42, theflexibility of said tubes affording the necessary freedom of movement ofthe marking devices, as hereinbefore explained. The two reservoirs 41 asshown are formed in a single case or receptacle and are separated fromeach other by a partition 43 (Fig. 3), whereby the device is adapted toapply different colors separately if desired. Stopcocks indicated at 44are provided for controlling the flow of coloring liquid from thereservoirs.

The several elements of the marking device as shown are mounted upon aframe 45 which is detachably mounted upon two upright rods 46. Bosses 47formed upon the frame 45 are bored for the reception of the rods 46 andare adapted to be slipped downwardly over the upper ends .of the rods.-

Clamping collars 48 are arranged upon the rods and afford the necessarysupport for the frame 45.

Figs. 3 and 5 illustrate a device by which the bobbins are rotated whileundergoing the action of the marking devices, to the end that thecoloring liquid shall be wiped upon the bobbins and thereby evenlyapplied. The device for this purpose comprises a strip 50 of suitablefriction material such as soft rubber, and is arranged to bear againstthe lower ends of the bobbins. Each bobbin has a rolling action upon thestrip 50 in consequence of the bodily movement caused by the carrier 10,and the bobbins are. thus caused to have wiping action upon the strips32, the larger diameter of the lower end of the bobbin causing arelatively slow peripheral speed of the marked portions in comparison tothe lineal speed along the strips 32. The strip 50 as shown is attachedto a holder 51. Said holder may be made of wood. and the friction stripmay be attached to it by cement or glue. The holder 51 is supported by apair of slides 52 arranged upon rods 53. These rods as shown are affiXedto a bracket 54. Compression springs 55 bear against the slides 52 tokeep the strip 50 against the bobbin with suflicient pressure to insurerotation of the bobbin about its own axis. When the bobbin passes beyondthe strip 50 the latter is moved by the springs 55 into the path of thesucceeding bobbin, collars 56 being afiixed to the rods 53 in positionto limit such movement, so that the strip may be easily forced back bythe succeeding bobbin. The bracket 54 as shown is arranged upon one ofthe rods 46, and is in the form of a split clamp, so that it may be setat any desired position upon the rod. If it is desired to cause thebobbins to rotate in the opposite direction, the bracket 54 may bemounted uponthe other rod 46, in which case the friction strip 50 wouldbear against the opposite side of the bobbin. When two marking devicesare used and are oppositely disposed as shown, it would be immaterialwhich way the bobbins rotated; but if only one marking device is used,or if a plurality ofmarking devices are arranged upon the same side ofthe bobbin, it might be desirable to change the direction of rotation ofthe bobbin. The rotatable disk 30 upon which the bobbin rests has asleeve portion 30' which sustains the bobbin against the lateral thrustof the friction member 50 and which because of its freedom to rotateupon the spindle facilitates the rotation of the bobbin more than ifsuch lateral stress were sus tained directly by the dead spindle.

The carrier 10 as shown by F ig. 1 is in a dwelling position, in whichposition the bobbins are all out of register with the marking device.The successive intervals between the rotative movements of the carrierafl'ord ample time in which the attendant may slip the bobbins upon thespindles at A. The spindles while traveling from discharging position tobobbin-receiving position are set out radially from the axis of shaft13, the heads 29 at such time bearing against the inner ends of thebushings 28; but if the attendant in placing the bobbins upon thespindles fails to force the spindles inwardly until the shoulders 28 areseated against the bearings, the spindles will automatically take suchposition before reaching the marking device, the force of gravity andthe an gular position of the spindles increasing sufliciently to insurethe desired position before the bobbins reach the marking device.

Each bobbin upon moving into register with the discharging device 16 isimmediately discharged, such discharge occurring during the intervalbetween rotative steps of the carrier. The discharging device as shownis in the form of a plunger and is arranged to slide in bearingsaiforded by a bracket 57. The plunger is normally held retracted by acompression spring 58 which acts against a collar 59 affixed to theplunger. Said collar is normally held against the inner bearing ofbracket 57. The outer end of the plunger (Fig. 6) carries an offsetpiece 60 which is arranged to engage the disk 30 when the plunger ismoved outwardly. The plunger may be operated by any suitable means, andhave in the present instance arranged it so s to be moved outwardly bythe pin 18 which drives the carrier 10. The inner end of the plunger isarranged in the path of the pin 18, and said pin upon passing out ofcontact with the disk 17 abuts against the inner end of the plunger andmoves the plunger outwardly, such movement being transmitted to thespindle by the offset piece 60. The pin 18 traveling in a circular pathsoon moves out of register with the plunger, and the latter is thereuponimmediately returned by its spring 58. The discharge of the bobbin fromthe spindle is due to the momentum acquired by the bobbin in consequenceof the longitudinal movement of the spindle) It is obvious that thebobbins would be discharged by gravity alone if the discharging devicewere omitted, but that in such case the bobbins would remain upon thespindles for a longer time before being discharged. The chief reason forproviding the discharging device is to enable the discharged bobbins todrop into a receptacle resting upon the floor which supports themachine, without the necessity of elevating the machine for suchpurpose. It might, however, be desirable in some cases to set themachine upon an elevated platform, in which event the discharging devicewould not be necessary and the bobbins would slip off automatically fromthe spindles upon reaching an angular position which would enable theforce of gravity alone to effect the discharge of the bobbins.

I claim: v

1. A machine for marking bobbins, comprising a rotatable carrier, aseries of bobbin-holders thereon, a stationary strip of absorbentmaterial arranged to be engaged and traversed successively by thebobbins on said holders, and means arranged to feed a marking fluid tosaid absorbent strip.

2. A machine for marking bobbins, comprising a rotatable carrier, aseries of bob-- bin-holders thereon, a marking device arranged to beengaged successively by the bobbins on said holders, and bobbin-rotatingmeans arranged to act successively upon the bobbins as the lattertraverse the working range of said,marking device, said means consistingof an elongated strip of friction material, a movable holder for saidstrip, and yielding means arranged to act on said holder to keep saidstrip normally in the path of the bobbins, said strip and holder beingdisplaceable against the stress of said yielding means by the peripheralsurfaces of the bobbins.

3. A machine for marking bobbins, comprising a rotatable carrier, aseries of bobbin-holders thereon, a marking device arranged to beengaged successively by the bobbins on said holders, abobbin-discharging device arranged to register with the marked bobbinssuccessively as the carrier is rotated, and means arranged to actalternately on said carrier and on said discharging device to rotatesaid carrier step by step and to impart discharging movement to saiddischarging device.

4:. A machine for marking bobbins, comprising a carrier, a series ofbobbin-holders thereon, a stationary elongated marking device and astationary elongated friction device both arranged to be engaged by thebobbins, said friction device being arranged to cause each bobbin torotate about its axis in consequence of movement of said carrier.whereby the bobbin has a wiping action upon said marking device.

5. A machine for marking bobbins, comprising a carrier, a series ofspindles arranged thereon, and a marking device arranged to coactsuccessively with a series of bobbins arranged on said spindles, saidcarrier being arranged to tip said spindles sufficiently to render themincapable of retaining the marked bobbins.

6. A machine for marking bobbins, comprising a rotatable carrier theaxis of which is substantially horizontal, a series of bob sively by thebobbins on said holders during bin-receiving spindles arrangedsubstanthe first said one half of the cycle. 10 tially radially on saidcarrier whereby the In testimony whereof I have aflixed my bobbins arecaused by gravity to remain signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

5 thereon during one half of the cycle of said WILLIAM ELLIOT, JR.

carrier and to slip therefrom during the Witnesses: other half of saidcycle, and a bobbin-mark- FREDERICK G. GOUGH,

ing device arranged to be engaged succes- ELSIE J. DIXON.

